Item from Squid Game by Hwang Dong-hyuk
Ten people pull a rope on a platform in the sky — the losing team falls to their death when the rope is cut.
Tug of War is the game where alliances matter most. Teams of ten are formed before the game is announced, which means the selection — who you picked and who you rejected — becomes a life-or-death calculation. Deok-su's decision to cut Mi-nyeo from his team (because she's 'dead weight') sets in motion the chain of events that kills him on the Glass Bridge. Oh Il-nam — appearing to be a confused old man — provides the winning strategy: lean back, take small steps, endure the initial pull, then surge forward when the opposing team tires. The strategy works because it's counterintuitive. Every instinct says pull harder. Il-nam's strategy says hold, wait, then strike. Cooperation and technique beat raw strength. The game is also the first time the show makes teams compete directly against each other — not individuals against a system, but groups against groups. Losing is collective. Every member of the losing team falls. There are no individual survivors.
Two teams of ten face each other on an elevated industrial platform, connected by a thick rope. Below is a fatal drop into darkness. Stadium lighting. The platform is industrial steel — no decoration, no pastels, just function. The rope is the only thing between each team and gravity.
Also known as: Juldarigi, Rope Pull